Tag Archive | crafts

Giveaway Winner

Thank you to all who read and commented on the post for the Kraemer Yarns giveaway! Last night I pulled up a random number generator online and it picked my winner for me…

Number 9 is Rachel, who writes the blog From Bad to Worsted. Congratulations, Rachel! Check your email!

If you didn’t win but want to try out Kraemer Yarns, here’s a shop finder so you can see if your LYS carries it.

Thanks again to all who entered, to Stitchcraft Marketing for giving me the opportunity, and to Kraemer Yarns for sponsoring the generous giveaway!

Craft Room Update

Apr29

I had a whole long Sunday without any plans, and I really thought I’d get a lot of knitting done. Instead, I cleaned up and rearranged my craft room! After my photography class last weekend, I wanted to get a photo-friendly spot in there, since it’s a north-facing room (prime light). So I was ruthless in cleaning out stuff I never use, making a donate pile and a trash pile, and then I pulled out a small rolltop desk I never used anymore. When I was done, my room felt bright and airy and big!

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I need a small table to fit in the corner there, and then I can build a light box and it will be the perfect place to take indoor photos! Here’s the other side of the room, complete with dogs.

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Oh, you want to see the yarn too? Okay! It’s an embarrassingly large but delightful stash. I’ve thought about pruning out all the acrylic (the bottom two shelves) but figure it’s not hurting anything, and maybe I’ll need it someday.

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Same dog, different spot. Now my room is lovely and I’m very tired and grungy, so I do believe that means it’s time to clean up and rest with my knitting.

One Sock, Two Sock, Bright Sock, Blue Sock

Apr28

Two socks have come off my needles recently. Sadly, they’re both first socks so I don’t have a new pair to wear, but at least both second socks have already been cast on. First to get done was my Rose City Roller, only I called it my Nebraska Roller since this yarn came from our college visit road trip.

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I’ve slipped it on and can already tell I’m going to love how short it is! I’m kind of hoping I can get two pairs of socks out of one skein. The yarn is Indigo Boulevards 2-ply sock in color Lost Diadem.

The second sock is my Girl Power sock, which FLEW off the needles. I could not stop knitting this sock!

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I love everything about this sock. Everything. The yarn is perfect. The pattern is simple and fits well and is perfect. The gray is the perfect accent to the bright colors. LOVE. Yarn is Show Me Yarn Boot Heel in color Girl Power, pattern is Vanilla Latte.

And then somehow I managed to buy another skein of yarn. I know! It’s crazy. Even crazier? The husband was right there with me when I bought it! We went on a little day trip to downtown Lawrence, Kansas and had to stop at the Yarn Barn of course, and this skein of Malabrigo Sock called my name big time.

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I decided that rather than feel guilty for buying more yarn, I would celebrate the fact that I only bought one skein!

Knitting in the Heartland, Part 2

Apr23

I have not been a student for many years. Like, a lot. More than…ten. Maybe more than 15. So when I signed up for Franklin Habit’s Photographing Your Fiber class at Knitting in the Heartland, I was excited but also a little nervous. And with it being photography, something I’ve played around with but never officially studied, I was afraid I’d come across as the newbie I am. I didn’t know what to expect as I packed up my camera, manual, and sample projects. Would I be expected to take photos for his review?? And if so, would they suck?

Well, it turns out that all my worries were for naught. The class was wonderful, Franklin was delightful, and I learned SO MUCH. I even learned that I already knew stuff about photography–important concepts about lighting and composition. It’s more the technical side of it where I need the help, and that’s where this class helped the most. It was lecture-style, not enough time for hands-on work, but I kept the camera in front of me so that I could scroll through the menu and find all the settings as he explained them, and pulled out the manual during the short break to find out more. I was so excited to learn about the White Balance setting and aperture and shutter speeds and how all those things actually affect the photos! Part two of the 3-hour class touched on less technical things like props, tools, and models. He talked a lot about getting creative with what you’ve got on hand rather than buying expensive tools, since that takes money you could be spending on yarn. My favorite bit was the light box demonstration. I totally need to build my own now.

Really, it was the perfect beginning photography course for me. It taught me just enough to start playing with my camera more, to experiment with all the different settings and just have fun with it. And then later on down the road, when I feel comfortable with those things, I can look into a next level course. I enjoyed it, and him, so much that when the class was over, I dashed to the vendor fair and grabbed a copy of his book, “It Itches”, so that I could have him sign it for me, which he did graciously.

And then I accidentally stopped at another booth that was selling wrist rulers, because the black one I have is the tiniest bit too small and also it’s hard to read the black. Therefore I really needed the 17″ gray version. At least I didn’t buy more yarn!

Trying to Wrap it Up

Apr17

My main knitting project lately has been a new shawl called the Mother Earth Wrap. It’s simple and gratifying, lots of squishy garter stitch and fun color changes. It’s been going to and from work, it’s been with me when I sit out on the deck with the dogs, and it’s been my after-dinner relaxation knitting.

All of that knitting time means I’m making lots of progress! I’m on the next-to-last color now, and I’m hoping to finish within a week.

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I wish I had saved the purples for last, so they’d be the biggest sections, but I’m loving this color combo anyway. The yarn is Perfection by Kraemer Yarns. Look for my review as soon as I’m done knitting this lovely piece!

Knitting in Fits and Spurts

Apr15

I’m in my new role at work full-time now, acting just as a temporary back-up for my former teams for a little bit longer, so both the work and my brain have settled down a little bit. I’m not feeling scattered and overwhelmed like I was last week. But I am remembering the “fun” of a new job: that learning curve where you make normal mistakes which make you feel kind of dumb and incompetent for a while. I mean, yes, I know I’m not either of those things, and this job is a great fit for me and I’m loving it. I just like it better when I settle into a job and know what I’m doing. Anyway, less stress at work means my brain isn’t quite as tired at home, so I’ve actually been able to do some knitting! I’ve abandoned my sock monkey sock for now, probably because it’s brown and brown isn’t fun and colorful, and instead I cast on for my first Rose City Rollers.

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The yarn is Indigo Boulevards 2-ply Sock, hand-dyed in Nebraska and purchased when the girl and I were there for a college visit. This is colorful and fun! And I couldn’t believe how quickly I got to the heel; I could get used to making short socks, I think.

My other little project is the girl’s Sockhead Hat. You might remember that this was one of her WIPs that I decided to finish. She’d gotten halfway through the ribbing when I started, and our gauge was crazy different. I tried to roll with it but couldn’t, so I frogged and started over.

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I like it MUCH better now. This yarn is Malabrigo, I think. I love the colors. I’m just about ready to switch needles and start the stockinette body. This will be great travel knitting for all the end-of-year concerts. (And…graduation! Gasp!)

But the most fun thing that happened last week was unrelated to knitting. Lately the boy has been itching to learn guitar, and he’s more excited about it than I’ve ever seen him about anything. So we decided to give in and got him his first guitar, a gorgeous used Les Paul, and he’s in heaven.

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We’ll get him started with lessons ASAP, but he’s spent the last couple of days teaching himself chords and he’s doing really well, apart from the sore fingers. And thankfully he can plug headphones into the amp when I’m tired of listening to him practice!

And for now, it’s cold and snow outside (hooray for Spring?) which means it’s perfect weather for snuggling with pups, drinking tea, and knitting!

A little gift

Apr8

My husband is very clever, and handy with tools. He recently made a little pen holder for my desk and today it was ready to be put in place.

Isn’t it cute? It’s so little and simple, but it has this subtle slant on the front. He even said he’d be willing to make more! This one originally had five holes, but then Duncan got a hold of it so one end had to be removed. Maybe my next one should actually have five holes!

FO Friday: Arya Shawl

Apr6

This shawl actually got done last weekend, when I got to stay home and knit all Sunday. (It was marvelous. I highly recommend it.) But I haven’t had the time, light, or energy to get good photos until last night. We got a rare 60-degree day, and I slipped outside after dinner to sneak a few shots. The light was absolutely perfect.

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This is the Arya Shawl and it was wonderful to knit. The repetition never got boring, maybe because it alternated between lace and garter, maybe because the stripes kept it interesting. I loved the way it shifted from one color to the next, too, with slipped stitches similar to the ones in the Rainbow Warrior shawl.

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I reached the end of the increase section quickly, and was concerned that the shawl would be too short. Several of the projects on Ravelry also mentioned that their shawl was a little shorter than they’d expected. Yes, I could have tried to figure out a good way to add length, but instead I measured the width, and it was as wide as it was supposed to be, so I decided to trust the pattern and just keep knitting. I’m glad I did, because it came out a perfect length.

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The yarn is Universal Yarn Bamboo Pop, a 50/50 cotton/bamboo blend, and I love it. I wore it yesterday to work and it was lightweight and very breathable. The only time I got too warm was when I was rushing around, running up and down stairs. It was soft in my hands to knit with, maybe a tiny bit splitty but not annoyingly so, and blocked wonderfully. I think this is going to be a staple in my knit wardrobe!

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The only hard part is deciding which colors to use for my next one!

WIP no more

Apr4

After two and a half months, which is a ridiculous amount of time, I have finally finished a pair of socks begun in January. These are the Mapleridge socks, a pattern chosen from Kate Atherley’s sock book, which I got for Christmas. I chose the cuff down option, and altered the toe to do my usual Kitchener toe.

I love the stitch pattern; it has such lovely squishy depth. And I think the yarn is a tiny bit thicker than some of the other sock yarn I’ve used, so on the size one needles, it works up into a dense, snuggly fabric.

I’ve tried them on but haven’t worn them so I can’t comment on fit, but I am interested to see how they wear. The heel and gusset are different than the others I’ve made, and the bottom edge of the heel hits a different spot on my foot. Plus there’s that little ridge from knitting into the back loop, and I don’t know how I’ll like that.

The yarn is Madtosh Sock, which is so soft but doesn’t have nylon, and I hope they wear well without getting holes too quickly. Still, I’m in love with the color, the style, the feel, so they’d have to be pretty uncomfortable for me to not want to wear them a lot!

Maybe it’s lucky that we’re having this endless winter? At least it gives me more time to wear my cozy handknit socks!

Slow socks

Mar31

This was my first week in my new job (which I LOVE), and it was just half time, as I spent the other half in my old role to help them transition. There was so much new information, so many new tasks, that my brain sort of got tired. Every night I’d come home with grand plans to knit after dinner, and almost every night I’d lose steam after a few rows. I’m hoping that with a little time, things will balance out, but in the meantime, I just have a wee bit of sock progress to share.See that bit of brown there? Yep, that’s the progress made on this Monkey sock since I last shared it. I managed about five rows one evening this week. But it should grow more pretty soon because I’m almost done with this Madtosh Mapleridge sock:This represents the bulk of my knitting this week. Last weekend I got the heel and gussets done, so this week I’ve been working on the foot during lunch breaks. Just an inch left and I’m ready to decrease for the toes! I’m saving this for next week’s lunch breaks, and this weekend I’ve started a new project. I received some yarn to review, along with a pattern, so of course I had to cast on for that immediately! Here’s a little black & white peek. The pattern is simple so I’m hoping it goes quickly. It’s perfect TV and movie knitting, and I have several shows to catch up on this weekend. And books to catch up on, and chores to catch up on…weekends need to be longer than two days!